Method and device for joining jewelry components

ABSTRACT

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method of joining a decorative ornament to an earring base component includes a dapped piece (a meniscus lens shaped piece) of material joined to a threaded tube. An opening in the end of the tube connected to the dapped piece is aligned with a hole in the dapped piece. The support piece is then joined to a decorative ornament. The tube is threaded and receives a threaded rod-like base stud. The threaded base stud passes through the hole in the dapped piece and reaches the threads of the tube. The threaded tube provides alignment and increased support between the base stud and the decorative ornament.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention generally relates to methods and devices for joining jewelry components. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and devices for joining a decorative ornament to a threaded rod-like base earring member.

2. Description of Related Art

Many articles of jewelry are made by attaching decorative ornaments to base jewelry components. The base jewelry components provide the method for wearing the article of jewelry. For example, some earrings are created by attaching a decorative bead to the end of a rod-like metallic stud base. This may be accomplished by drilling a channel in the bead, passing one end of the rod-like stud into the channel, and securing the stud within the channel. The earring is worn by passing the other end of the rod-like stud base through a traditional ear piercing.

Alternatively, the decorative ornament may be a gem basket holding a gem or stone. The side of the gem basket opposite the stone face may have a flat disc with a threaded hole for receiving a threaded rod-like metallic stud base. Because the cross-sectional diameter of the rod-like stud base is often small and the thickness of the gem basket disc is very thin, the contact area of the threaded connection is very small. The small contact area makes it difficult to maintain the desired alignment between the gem basket and the stud base, as the gem basket will tend to pivot or wobble. This design may also concentrate stress on the small contact area, which could result in breakage of the earring and loss of the decorative element.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, a method for joining jewelry components includes attaching a threaded tube member to a support piece. The support piece is then joined to a jewelry component. Finally, the support piece/jewelry component assembly is threaded onto a threaded rod-like jewelry base.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method of joining a decorative ornament to an earring base component includes a dapped piece (a meniscus lens shaped piece) of material joined to a threaded tube. An opening in the end of the tube connected to the dapped piece is aligned with a hole in the dapped piece. The tube is threaded and receives a threaded rod-like base stud. The threaded base stud passes through the hole in the dapped piece and reaches the threads of the tube. The threaded tube provides alignment and increased support between the base stud and the decorative ornament.

In this embodiment, the dapped piece is a meniscus lens shaped piece, which has a hole in the center of the piece. The longitudinal axis of the tube extends substantially normal to a plane tangent to the center point of the curved face of the dapped piece. The end of the tube connected to the dapped piece does not extend past the convex side of the dapped piece. The other end of the tube extends from the concave side of the dapped piece. These and other features will become readily apparent from the following detailed description wherein embodiments of the invention are shown and described by way of illustration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of various embodiments of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear plan view of an attachment device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view, taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, of the attachment device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a close-up cross-sectional side view of a tube joined to a dapped support piece preparing to be attached to a rod-like insert according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an attachment device according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an attachment device/decorative ornament assembly according to an embodiment of the invention shown in relation to an earring to which it attaches.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the attachment device/decorative ornament assembly of FIG. 5 joined to an earring.

FIG. 7 is a rear plan view of an attachment device according to a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional bottom view, taken generally along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7, of the attachment device of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view, taken generally along the line 9-9 of FIG. 7, of the attachment device of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an attachment device 10 for joining jewelry components according to the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an attachment device 10 includes a dapped support piece 100 with an opening 101 in the center. One end of a tube 102 is attached to the dapped support piece 100. The tube 102 is centered over the opening 101 such that the longitudinal axis (not shown) of the tube 102 passes through the center of the opening 101. The tube 102 may be attached to the dapped support piece 100 in a variety of ways, for example by soldering, welding, gluing, or by press-fitting the tube 102 into the opening 101.

The face of the dapped support piece 100 may have any shape. For example, FIG. 1 shows the dapped support piece 100 as having a substantially circular face with scalloped edges. However, the face may be circular, rectangular, square, or another regular or irregular shape. The dapped support piece 100 and tube 102 may be constructed of any material suitable for constructing jewelry, for example, gold, silver, or a plastic. The tube 102 and dapped support piece 100 may be, but need not be, constructed of the same material.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the attachment device 10 of FIG. 1 taken along the axis 2-2. In one embodiment, the dapped support piece 100 has a meniscus lens shaped cross section. The dapped support piece 100 has a convex surface 103 and a concave surface 104. The shape of the dapped support piece 100 may be formed, for example, by molding, forging, or hammering. The opening 101 is located at the center of the dapped support piece 100 and is sized to accommodate a desired rod-like jewelry base component (not shown).

The dapped support piece 100 has a tangent plane 105, which is tangent to the convex surface 103 at the center point 106 of the convex surface 103. The tube 102 attached to the dapped support piece 100 has a longitudinal axis 107 extending from an attached end 108 to an extended end 109. The tube 102 is connected to the dapped support piece 100 such that the attached end does not extend past the convex surface 103. In addition, the longitudinal axis 107 of the tube 102 is substantially normal to the tangent plane 105.

In another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7-9, the dapped support piece is curved along only one axis. Since the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 is generally similar to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, similar numerals will be utilized to designate similar components, the suffix letter “b” being associated with the numerals of FIG. 7-9 to avoid confusion. In this embodiment, the attachment device 10 b has a dapped support piece 100 b, which has a curved cross section taken along a first axis 8-8. The dapped support piece 10 b cross section taken along a second axis 9-9, which is substantially perpendicular to the first axis, does not curve from top to bottom.

FIG. 8 illustrates the cross section of dapped support piece 100 b taken along the first axis 8-8. Along this cross section, the dapped support piece 100 b has an inner surface 104 b and an outer surface 103 b that are curved from side to side. The aspects of the tube 102 b are similar to the tube found in the embodiment described in FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 9 illustrates the cross section of dapped support piece 100 b taken along the second axis 9-9. Along this cross section, the dapped support piece 100 b has an inner surface 104 b and an outer surface 103 b that do not curve from top to bottom.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up cross-sectional side view of the connection site of the tube 102 and the dapped support piece 100. The terminus of the attached end 108 may rest against the concave surface 104 (as shown). Alternatively, the attached end 108 of the tube 102 may pass through the opening 101 such that the terminus of the attached end 108 is flush with the convex surface 103, or the terminus may lie between the convex surface 103 and the concave surface 104 (not shown). The tube 102 may be attached to the dapped support piece 100 in a variety of ways, for example by soldering, welding, gluing, or by press-fitting the tube 102 into the opening 101.

The tube has an inside surface 110 and an inner diameter 111. In one embodiment, the inside surface 110 is threaded to receive a threaded rod-like insert 112. In addition, the inner diameter of the tube 102 is sized to accommodate the rod-like insert 112. The rod-like insert 112 has an outer surface 113, which is also threaded. In this embodiment, the tube threads may extend the entire length of the inside surface 110 or may only cover part of the inside surface 110. After a decorative element is joined to the dapped support piece (described in detail below), the complementary threads allow the attachment device/decorative ornament assembly to be screwed onto the rod-like insert 112.

In an alternate embodiment (not shown), the inside surface 110 may have other releasable mechanisms. For example, the releasable mechanisms may include complementary magnets mounted on the inside surface 110 of the tube 102 and on the outer surface 113 of the rod-like insert 112. As a further example, the releasable mechanism may include a circular channel on the inside surface 110 that mates with a spring-loaded o-ring mechanism mounted on the outer surface 113 of the rod-like insert 112.

In at least one embodiment (as shown in FIG. 3), the opening 101 has a curved lip 115, which acts to guide the threaded rod-like insert 112 to the threads of the inside surface 110. In alternate embodiments (not shown), the opening 101 may have a square edge or angular surface in place of the curved lip 115. Where an angular surface is used, a frustoconical opening is formed in the dapped support piece 100.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of an attachment device 10 a for joining jewelry components according to the invention. Since the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 is generally similar to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, similar numerals will be utilized to designate similar components, the suffix letter “a” being associated with the numerals of FIG. 4 to avoid confusion.

The embodiment of the attachment device 10 a includes a dapped support piece 100 a with an opening 101 a in the center. The dapped support piece 100 a has a meniscus lens shaped cross section and has a convex surface 103 a and a concave surface 104 a. One end of a tube 102 a is attached to the dapped support piece 100 a. The tube 102 a is centered over the opening 101 a such that the longitudinal axis (not shown) of the tube 102 a passes through the center of the opening 101 a. The tube 102 a has an attached end 108 a and an extended end 109 a. The tube 102 a is connected to the dapped support piece 100 a such that the attached end 108 a does not extend past the convex surface 103 a.

In this embodiment, the radius of curvature of the dapped support piece 100 a is greater than in the previously described embodiment of FIGS. 1-3. The radius of curvature and facial area of the dapped support member 100 a may be varied to accommodate any size of decorative ornament to be attached. The dapped support piece 100 a has an edge plane 114 a, which passes through the outer most edges of the dapped support piece 100 a. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the terminus of the extended end 109 a of the tube 102 a extends past the edge plane 114 a. However, the terminus of the extended end 109 a of the tube 102 a need not extend past the edge plane 114 a, as the length of tube 102 a may be varied to accommodate any size of decorative ornament to be attached.

In this embodiment, the greater radius of curvature would allow the attachment device 10 a to better accommodate direct attachment to a spherical decorative ornament, such as a pearl (not shown). In this example, the tube 102 a would extend into a channel made in the pearl, and the pearl's surface would be bound to the concave surface 104 a by an adhesive. In addition, the radius of curvature of the dapped support piece 100 a would be selected to substantially conform to the radius of curvature of the outer surface of the pearl.

FIG. 5 illustrates an attachment device/decorative ornament assembly 20 according to an embodiment of the invention. In at least one embodiment, the decorative ornament is a gem basket 200 holding an ornamental stone. A dapped support piece 201 of an attachment device 202 may be joined to the gem basket 200 in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to welding, soldering, or gluing. The dapped support piece 201 is of a size and a shape to accommodate the size and shape of the gem basket 200.

In this embodiment, the rear of the gem basket 200 fits snuggly against the concave surface of the dapped support piece 201. This arrangement provides ample surface contact between the dapped support piece 201 and the outer surface of the gem basket 200. Thus, the two components may be securely joined as described above. In addition, the outer most edges of the dapped support piece 201 partially wrap around the rear of the gem basket 200. This design facilitates the attachment device 202 being hidden behind the ornamental stone when viewed from the front.

A tube 203 (the hidden cross section of which is shown in dash lines on FIGS. 5 and 6) is attached to the dapped support piece 201 generally similar to the manner described in the above embodiments. The tube 203 is threaded to receive a complementary threaded rod-like insert 204, which is part of a base component of an earring 21. The earring 21 may also have a second decorative element 205 attached to an end of the earring 21 opposite the rod-like insert 204. The second decorative element 205 may be, for example, a gem basket holding a stone. FIG. 6 illustrates the attachment device/decorative ornament assembly 20 of FIG. 5 as threaded onto the rod-like insert 204 of earring 21. The threaded inner surface (not shown) of the tube 203 engages the threads on the outer surface of the rod-like insert 204.

As will be realized, the inventions are capable of other and different embodiments and its several details may be capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the invention as set out in the appended claims. For example, the decorative ornament need not be mounted in a gem basket, but could be attached directly to the dapped support piece. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not in a restrictive or limiting sense with the scope of the application being indicated in the claims. 

1. An earring having an object, a rod member, and a mechanical device for attaching the object to a linear portion of the rod member, the device comprising: a dapped member having a concave surface, a convex surface opposite to the concave surface, and a circular opening, the opening having a center point and an opening diameter to receive the linear portion, the dapped member being joined to the object; and a tube having an inner surface and a longitudinal axis extending from a first end to a second end of the tube, the tube having a largely circular annulus cross section substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the circular annulus cross section having an internal diameter to receive the linear portion, the first end being aligned with the concave surface of the dapped member such that the longitudinal axis of the tube passes through the center point of the opening and the longitudinal axis of the tube is substantially normal to a plane tangent to the center point of the opening, the second end of the tube being set apart from the first end, the tube being joined to the dapped member; wherein the inner surface of the tube releasably connects to an outer surface of the rod linear portion, and provides a desired alignment between the dapped member and the rod when the linear portion is connected.
 2. The earring of claim 1, wherein the connection between the inner surface of the tube and the outer surface of the rod portion consists of complimentary threading.
 3. The earring of claim 1, wherein the object is a gem basket and the earring is capable of being worn through a traditional ear piercing.
 4. The earring of claim 1, wherein the dapped member has a meniscus lens shaped cross section.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the dapped member has a substantially curved cross section taken along a first axis and a substantially linear cross section taken along a second axis, the second axis being substantially perpendicular to the first axis. 